A new era for research and development?

A cursory glance at the computer industry´s spending on research and development might draw attention to individual companies´ investments. In a continued tight economy, expenditures on blue-sky research might seem especially dispensable. Regardless of individual corporations´ spending, experts say, the entire R&D environment is changing due to rapidly evolving technology, including converging computing and communications functions; innovative partnerships between the academic community and industry; the increasing importance of international standards bodies; and lastly, the US Congress´s flurry of activity in the wake of the 11 September terror attacks. The paper considers the relationship between the academic research community and industry